I'm so pleased to have Jackie Gamber making a stop on her blog tour for her new young adult novel Sela. Sela is the second in the Leland Dragon Series and is available now from Seventh Star Press. She is an award-winning author and writes stories in various lengths that have appeared in anthologies, periodical publications. Jackie is winner of the 2009 Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Award for Imaginative Fiction, was named honorable mention in L. Ron Hubbard's Writers of the Future Award, and received a 2008 Darrell Award for best short story by a Mid-South author. She is also a member of the professional organizations Science Fiction Writers of America and Horror Writers Association.
I met Jackie last year at Fandom Fest in Louisville and she was an absolute delight to talk to. She was on a panel of young adult authors and it was really neat to hear her speak. She also held a BookTasting at the convention and I really look forward to that this year.
Again, thank you so much Jackie for stopping here at KGG for the Sela blog tour and I wish you all the best! Guest post after the break!
“The Frightened Forest” and Stash’s Chocolate Hazelnut
Tea – A Treat for Fantasy Lovers
and the Kids They Once Were
Tea – A Treat for Fantasy Lovers
and the Kids They Once Were
I’ve long been a fan of both books and tea. Fiction, with
its infinite incarnations, can be an escape, a treat, a way to live a part of life
with all the senses engaged. And tea, with its equally diverse variations, can
provide the same payout! Put them together; sip a perfectly brewed cuppa while
reading a delicious book, and you’ve got a double dose of the good life.
BookTastings came about with this in mind, but a step
further. What if the kind of tea
while reading a particular book enhanced or complemented the overall
experience?
It can! It does.
Today’s surprise stop on the SELA blog tour at Kentucky Geek
Girl is a perfect opportunity to share a BookTasting, and has special meaning
for me. Because today I’m talking about “The Frightened Forest”, by Ann
Turnbull. It’s a Scholastic Book, copyright 1974, and the first book I remember
reading as a kid that opened a valve in my heart for fantasy (although I didn’t
realize it was ‘fantasy’ at the time). It’s also one of the first stories that
made me realize I wanted to do write, too. Those kinds of books. With magic,
and wizards, and knowing trees.
“The Frightened Forest” is the tale of Gillian, from London,
visiting her cousins for the summer. Showing her around, Paul and Stephanie
take her to an abandoned railroad, and the dark and spooky tunnel that passes
under “The Devil’s Table”. Dares are passed around, and Gillian is dared to walk
the tunnel. No flashlight. Not usually the kind to rise to adventures, Gillian
nevertheless comes to decide she’s going to do it. Early one morning, she
leaves a note:
I am going through the
tunnel without a light. If you don’t believe me, be at the other end at 8
o’clock. Gillian.
Taking up a stick to drag along the tunnel walls, she inadvertently
chooses a branch of rowan, mountain ash. With the power in that stick, as she
exits the tunnel, she lets loose a powerful, angry force that has been trapped
inside for decades.
And, unknowingly, she releases a battle for the forest, and
for the world, that must be fought with the help of the Lord of the Woods.
Can there be a better reading experience than that? Only if
you combine it with a cup of Stash’s Chocolate Hazelnut tea! The tea is as rich
and satisfying as Turnbull’s fantastical tale, and as smooth as her
kid-friendly prose. Add a splash of cream and sweetener, and the tea becomes a
dessert. Just the kind of “chocolate milk” experience that reading Turnbull’s
book can be.
And the tea is decaf! So you’re free to share the tea, and
the story, with any youth who hankering for a special treat.
Stash’s Chocolate Hazelnut tea and “The Frightened Forest”
are a BookTasting match made for each other. The stuff of imagination. For all
fantasy lovers, and the kids we used to be.
For more BookTastings,
visit http://www.book-tasting.com/
For more information about Jackie
and her mosaic mind, visit http://www.jackiegamber.com
And meet Jackie elsewhere on the
world wide web at:
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